Want to reduce stress and illness in sheltered cats? Take a spotty approach to cleaning and sanitation!
However counter-intuitive it might seem, some of the steps we take to prevent disease in animal shelters might have the opposite effect. One such practice is the thorough cleaning of cat cages, including removing the cat, bedding, bowls, and other items, followed by chemical sanitizing.
Being removed from his cage is highly stressful for the cat, as is the removal of all familiar scents from the bedding and other items in their living space. Cats rub their faces on surfaces in their environment, leaving a scent only they can detect that has a soothing effect. Removing their bedding and other soft items such as toys removes one of the major means at the cat’s disposal to calm herself.
Harsh chemicals also assault the cat’s very sensitive nose, and the areas where cats are held during cleaning can also be very stressful.
Stress is linked to higher levels of feline urinary, intestinal and upper respiratory disease, so these protocols can contribute to high levels of the very conditions they were designed to prevent.
Animal shelters should instead utilize spot cleaning protocols, such as these from the Koret Shelter Medicine Program at UC Davis, to clean cats’ cages without threatening their health due to avoidable stress.
Ideally, the cat will have a portalized cage, so she can be moved to one side while the other is spot cleaned. If the shelter hasn’t yet installed portholes in its cat housing, a carrier should be permanently placed in the cage, providing the cat a place to hide (another stress reducer) as well as a familiar safe harbor she can be closed in while debris and soiled dishes are replaced with fresh food and water, and the litterbox cleaned. Only mild soap and water should be used.
Of course, if the bedding becomes very soiled it will need to be replaced, but most cats can stay with their familiar items during their whole shelter stay, and go home with them after adoption, too.
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